Postdocs unionize

Postdoctoral researchers at the University of Connecticut (UConn) Health Center in Farmington recently unionized, a move supporters hope will be imitated across the country. By a slim margin of 64 to 61, almost 150 postdocs voted August 29 to join a union representing 1900 other UConn Health Center workers.Coorganizer of the effort, Munirathinam Subramani, a postdoctoral fellow in the UConn neuroscience department, said that the decision to unionize was not made lightly and that he and other postdocs spent years trying to negotiate with the university for acceptable standards for working conditions, including salaries, benefits, and vacation.The National Institutes of Health recently set a minimum starting salary for a postdoctoral fellow at $34,200. However, Subramani told The Scientist that UConn postdocs can earn as little as $25,000 per year and work more than 60 hours each week. "I have no doubt [the union] will address this and we will be able to work through and negotiate and get a better work environment for postdocs here," he said.Subramani added that this is one of the first instances of nonfaculty science postdocs having unionized.Science researchers have encountered problems joining unions because they typically receive grants from outside sources and are not considered employees of an institution.Jim Walter, a spokesperson for the UConn Health Center, said the postdocs sidestepped that obstacle by receiving permission to unionize from the Connecticut State Board of Labor.Walter told The Scientist that the health center was "disappointed with the results of the election," but noted that its close nature shows that not all postdocs were convinced. The presence of a union will likely raise costs, reducing funds for research, and perhaps strain the traditionally close relationship between postdocs and their mentors, Walter added.But the results were good news to some science researchers at nearby Yale University. "Everyone here is quite pleased with it," said Maris Zivarts, a graduate student in biology at Yale. He said he was speaking for fellow scientist members of the Graduate Employees and Students Organization, which seeks to be recognized as a union.Zivarts said that forming a union is important for postdocs because it enables them to come together as a strong group, which is needed to negotiate big issues like salary. "I certainly hope this is the first of many union drives for postdocs," Zivarts said.However, not all science postdocs agree that unions are the best way to improve their situation. This year, Carol Manahan of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and other postdocs formed the National Postdoctoral Association (NPA), an organization that works with institutions to help postdocs survive and thrive in their careers.Manahan told The Scientist that the NPA adopted a "collaborative versus confrontational" approach because there was more evidence in its favor. "We just don't have enough data to know if unions are the best way for postdocs to organize."Manahan added that she feared a union could hurt some postdocs' prospects. They depend heavily on references from supervisors, she said, which might be less than glowing if they have a history of walking off the job as part of a union dispute, for example.However, she emphasized that she is not against unions and hopes that unionizing will help UConn Health Center postdocs. "It'll be an interesting experiment to watch," said Manahan. "And I hope it works out for everyone involved."

Postdocs unionize

Connecticut group seeks better pay and working conditions

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